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The Bristol Cable

Watch: 10 ways Bristol can reach net zero carbon by 2030

Bristol was the first city council to announce a climate emergency, and at the same time pledged to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2030. But with fewer than 9 years to go and a mammoth task ahead, what are the key steps that will help the city reach its ambitious target?

Bristol and the Climate Crisis

In the first of a video series on the climate crisis, the Cable looks at why the city needs to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to zero, and how it can be done.

The findings are based on analysis by the Centre for Sustainable Energy and Eunomia, two environmental consultancies based in the city, for Bristol City Council.

What’s clear is that the scale of the challenge is enormous, demanding city-wide collaboration and 1.6 times the rate of reduction in recent years, as a report by Bristol One City Climate Strategy found.

Whether we’re on track is up for debate. In this detailed analysis for the Cable of how the city is doing since it pledged to reach net zero in November 2018, science writer Jon Turney weighs up the city council’s climate achievements with its shortcomings.

Meanwhile, some communities in Bristol are taking matters into their own hands, by setting up renewable community energy projects that not only avoid burning fossil fuels, but also generate income for local residents.

Watch more original documentaries from the Bristol Cable here.

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  • Two of the largest sources of worldwide emissions are cement manufacture (for construction) and beef and lamb production. It would be nice to have seen these at least get a passing mention

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